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Q: I am a 53-year-old man. When I turned 50, I developed severe rosacea. I tried everything, and nothing helped.

I just returned from a two-week vacation in the South Pacific. I learned to snorkel and scuba dive and was in the ocean every day. By the time I left, all signs of rosacea were completely gone.

I don’t know why salt water works to clear up the skin, but it’s almost miraculous.

A: Thank you for sharing your great results. For those who may not have the opportunity to go snorkeling, other readers have suggested some unconventional ways of calming rosacea. This skin condition causes redness of the cheeks, nose and forehead. Sometimes there are fine red lines visible just under the skin, and there may be pimplelike blemishes.

Use trial and error to determine if any of these remedies might help:

Selsun Blue dandruff shampoo with selenium sulfide. Apply it in the morning and leave it on for a few minutes, then rinse it off.

Milk of magnesia. Dab it on the affected areas morning and night, let it dry and apply the usual moisturizer.